The Helpers Handbook
by YinYangSisters
Summary: "I'm not entirely sure, but I think I just became the Avengers Therapist" ... "You work in a coffee shop" "You think I don't know that!" Marie O'Hara just wants to study her Art and work her job. A chance encounter and suddenly fate has other ideas.


**Okay, so you know what I'm like, I write when I'm bored and I'm also doing about to start a Creative Writing piece for College so this is practise. Hope you enjoy. BIG FAT DISCLAIMER, AS IN I DON'T OWN ANYTHING IN THE MARVEL VERSE, BUT I DO OWN THIS STORY IDEA AND MY OWN CHARACTER MUAHAHAHA. **

* * *

When I was nine, I was told I am a very good listener. **  
**  
It was New Year Eve and my Mum and Dad were getting drunk with various family members. Uncle Mark, Cousins Jamie and Danielle, Aunty Pat. My elder sister was the new addition to the drinking frenzy.I, being only nine, was not allowed to drink, but had to simply sit and wait for the fireworks that my Dad and Uncle would put up later. During these lovely, family filled times I would often get stuck next to my Aunt Phillies, also known as the "Spinster Aunt"

Lovely I know.

You see, whilst everyone would go about drinking happily and singing merrily, I would be stuck next to her for the majority of the evening, listening as she prattled on and on about how she was pruning her garden or how that nice man from across the road was sending her flowers.

I'm certain it was all lies anyway. But it didn't matter, because even then, I knew she needed someone, someone to listen to her and help her through lonely times like Christmas and New Year.

In all honesty, sometimes I just zoned out and pretended to hear and care about everything she said.

Of course, it never occurred to me, when she turned to me and stated just how good a listener I am, that it'd ever really accomplish anything, the ability to listen and care for others.

The comment would just make me very warm inside, and happy that I could help her, even just a little bit.

Flash forward a few years, and I think I'm starting to regret that feeling.

* * *

So years may have passed, and Aunty Phillies is alive still and prattling away every New Year, Christmas and whenever I see her.

I, however, am different. I grew up, moved on. At this moment in time I'm studying Art at SVA. See, it's always been my life's dream to be a full time photographer and project designer.

I grew up in a small town outside of London, and as much as I loved the Art Uni's back in the old UK, I needed to get away from my very big, very noisy, very nosey family.

If only for a few years.

That didn't mean I didn't talk to them, quite the opposite, but I wanted to see the world and New York seemed like a good start. I managed to earn myself a scholarship, get a job and share that job with a flatmate.

All in all I was doing pretty well.

Well, apart from the fact my job is in a little coffee shop called "Coffee for Three". Weird name I know, my boss says it's because he came up with the idea when he was drunk with his brother and his girlfriend. I've also been living off of what Mia, my flatmate, and I like to call "food-but-not-really-food" since I got here.

I'm okay.

* * *

The thing about working a coffee shop right outside the Avengers Tower, formerly Stark, you get a lot of stuck up business men that you just want to re-educate in a little thing called feminism. It's like a lot of the past 50 years didn't actually happen for these men.**  
**  
Blah. Whatever, I just deal with them as they come.

So it's Monday morning, I figure that the most that would happen today would be work, eat, work, deal with annoying customer, work, eat, work, go home, eat and sleep.

Nice, easy, simple, repeat.

However, today was going to be a very different day, only at the time I didn't know it.

You see, working at a little coffee shop outside what was Starks didn't just mean annoying, prickish business men, but also Superheroes.

Very very hungover Superheroes.

Okay, so this is how my day goes. A guy walks in, nice suit (Westwood or something), slight beard but wearing sunglasses indoors, so to me he seems a bit shady.

He walks right up to the counter, completely ignoring the man I'm serving, who whilst an overweight, rude man, is still a customer and proceeds barks out an order for a tall, skinny, white Americano and a Cinnamon bun .

Well, sorry, but I did NOT come to New York to be treated like that.

"Excuse me, sir, you'll have to wait your turn, I'm serving this gentlemen here"

Clearly, this doesn't go down to well with him, because he turns to me, although it was hard to tell what he was looking at with the ridicules sunglasses on and honestly were indoor take off the blasted things, and say's in the most lazy yet annoyed fashion.

"Er, what?"

"You heard me sir, you'll have to wait" I repeated, smiling sweetly.

"Right, okay" He pauses at this point, head tilting slightly

"Do you know who I am?"

"No. Neither do I care. If you don't want to wait, go to another coffee shop"

That may be bad for business, but I won't allow bullies, at least with the rude businessmen they're just brash, not aggressive.

He then straightens his back, as if the very idea of me not knowing him offends his very being, and leans in really close.

By this point my obese business man is sweating from every paw in his body.

"Listen Mary Poppins, I'm usually not so snappy, but I have a really bad hangover from a really bad night, and right now, all I want is some coffee, so why don't you serve me some, kay?"

"Of course sir" I replied, as he leaned back a bit, seemingly oh so smug again.

"Right after this gentleman here"

He loses it at this point, banging his fist on the counter, making my businessman, and several others jump right out of their skin.

"Do you know I could just have you fired?!" he practically shouted, succeeding in only pissing me off further.

"Hey, what is your problem? I'm just trying to do my job"

"My problem? My problem?! My problem is that I just had a bad night, nearly god damn died, again, so Peps is pretty pissed at me, and the rest of them aren't that happy either, so all I want is some coffee instead of scotch because the former is more socially acceptable. Okay?"

It was at this point I did what I always do, I listen then I give advice, it's the one thing I've always done. I tend not to even think about the situations I'm in when I do it.

"Well, do you think maybe you should just apologies for making people worry and then talk to them about it?"

"I can't" he groaned out, sounding like he was a child, being asked by his parents to clean his room.

I'm pretty sure by this point half of our customers, including the businessman I was serving, have fled.

"If I do, she'll just get angry, then I'll get all defensive, and then Caps will get all manly and god knows what Bruce'll do"

He paused for a moment, letting his own words sink in. I noticed his face a bit more at this point. It had a certain angle to it that seemed too familiar, but at the time, I was so thrown back by this really weird turn of events that I sort of ignored it.

"Maybe" he started again

"Maybe all I need to do is act like myself, okay apologies to Pepper in my own way, but she'll get it. You know what, you're right, if I just mope around I'll look stupid, and a guy like me can't look stupid"

I tried to stop him, to tell him I'd said nothing of the sort, but he just sort of kept on talking about this Pepper, so I just made his stupid coffee, now that the other man was gone. I couldn't really understand why Pepper meant so much to him.

It was only a seasoning, jeez.

"Then Bruce and Cap won't care, as long as I seem myself, plus good old Fury will just kick my ass back into gear if I did anything but!"

At that point I plopped his coffee one the counter will the cinnamon bun and said in my most monotone voice.

"Three-forty please sir"

"Huh" he seemed to wake up from his little day dream, fantasy, thingy or whatever it was he was doing.

He picked up the coffee and the bun, handed me a five and told me to keep the change. Then he just sort of strutted out, getting close to the door before he turned back to me, and ripped his stupid sunglasses off.

Right, I know it sounds like I'm an idiot, but honestly, the sunglasses he had been wearing really made him look different, so I couldn't help but let my jaw drop when I recognised who he was and why he was such an ass.

"You know, you're a really good listener, ever thought of it as an actual job?"

I could only shake my head mutely.

"Oh, sure whatever, I'll need to recommend you to all my, eh, friends…bye"

Then with one last cheeky grin and wave, he left.

…

…What the bloody hell had I just done?

Tony, I-decided-I-needed-to-be-more-than-just-a-human-bu t-also-Ironman, Stark just told me I was a good listener.

Friends? What friends? Everyone knows that Stark isn't very sociable in that way.

Oh, wait.

I looked up at the great Skyscraper from the window, craning my neck to read the top that simply stated "Avengers Tower"

He meant thoughs friends.

The big, slightly destructive, Superhero type.

Shrugging, I could only hope he'd been joking, I really didn't need a bunch of Superheroes in here making a mess by bringing trouble wherever they go.

Yeah, well, let's just say that didn't last very long.

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**Yaaay, first Chapter, hope it was okay. I'm taking on Prompts right now as well, so feel free to message me. Hope you enjoyed it. **


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